FREQUENT DELETION OF MTS1/p16 GENE AND CORRELATION WITH CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA

Objective: To investigate the possible relationship between deletion of MTS/p16 gene and progression of endometrial carcinoma Methods: Forty six primary endometrial carcinoma, 7 tumor adjacent endometrial tissue, 10 normal endometrial tissue specimen and 5 xenografts from patients with endometrial carcinoma were examined for homozygous deletion of MTS/p16 gene by polymerase chain reaction based analysis Results: Of 46 endometrial cancer specimens, 9 showed homozygous deletion, no deletion was detected in the tumor adjacent and normal endometial tissues Nor was it detected in well differentiated endometrial carcinoma and all xenografts Conclusions: Deletion of MTS1/p16 gene might contribute to the progression of endometrial carcinoma and could be served as indicator for predicting prognosis

Impact of p27mt gene on transplantation model of human colorectal cancer in nude mice

AIM:To investigate the inhibitory and anti-metastatic effect of mutant p27 gene(p27mt) on the growth of colorectal cancer xenografts in nude mice and its underlying mechanism.METHODS:Inhibitory effect of p27mt gene on the growth of colorectal cancer xenografts was determined by measurement of tumor size before and after direct intratumoral injection of Ad-p27mt in a preestablished transplantation model of human colorectal cancer in nude mice.Cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry performed on single-cell suspension from an isolated tumor.Expression of MMP-9 in tumor tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS:The average sizes of transplantation tumors were 1.94 ± 0.67 cm3,2.75 ± 0.83 cm3 and 3.01 ± 0.76 cm3 in the Ad-p27mt,Ad-LacZ and control groups,respectively(P < 0.05).The average proliferation rates were 37.34% ± 1.45%,53.16% ± 3.27% and 54.48% ± 2.43%,in the Ad-p27mt,Ad-LacZ and control groups,respectively(P < 0.05).The average apoptosis rates were 19.79% ± 3.32%,6.38% ± 4.91% and 7.25% ± 5.20% in the Ad-p27mt,Ad-LacZ and control groups,respectively(P < 0.01).The average MMP-9 expression rates were 20%,75% and 66.7% in the Ad-p27mt,Ad-LacZ and control groups,respectively(P < 0.01).CONCLUSION:p27mt inhibits the growth of transplanted tumor by blocking the proliferation of cancer xenografts and by promoting apoptosis of transplantated tumor cells,as well as decrease transpl-anted tumor metastasis.

Species identification and phylogenetic analysis of genus Nassarius(Nassariidae)based on mitochondrial genes

Genus Nassarius contains many subgenera, such as Zeuxis, Telasco, Niotha, Varicinassa, Plicarcularia, Nassarius s. str. and Reticunassa. On the basis of morphological characteristics of the shell and radula and sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S rRNA genes, Nassarius specimens collected from the South China Sea were identified and phylogenetically analyzed. Although Nassarius sp. and Nassarius (Varicinassa) variciferus were morphologically different in their shells, few variations were found among their radular teeth and sequences of mtCOI and mt16S RNA genes. Therefore, Nassarius sp. should be classified as N. (Varicinassa) variciferus. Nassarius (Zeuxis) sp. has only a subtle difference from Nassarius (Zeuxis) algidus on the shell, but it shows obvious differences in radular teeth and DNA sequence, indicating that they are two distinct species. Sequence divergence of mtCOI and mt16S RNA genes within Nassarius species was much lower than that between species, suggesting that these two genes are suitable for Nassarius species identification. Phylogenetic analysis (neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony) based on mtCOI and mt16S rRNA genes revealed the presence of two groups in genus Nassarius and a closest relationship between subgenera Zeuxis and Telasco. Species of subgenus Plicarcularia did not form a single clade. The molecular phylogeny was not congruent with the previous morphological phylogeny. The subgeneric divisions of genus Nassarius appear to be uncertain and unreliable.

Influence of human mutant p27 gene on the biological behaviors of colon cancer cells

Objective： To observe the influence of human mutant p27 gene （p27mt） on the growth and apoptosis of colon cancer cells so as to investigate the function mechanism of p27mt in gene therapy for colon cancer. Methods： Colon cancer cell line SW480 was infected with recombinant replication defective adenovirus Ad-p27mt, and expression of p27mt protein was detected by Western blot; the inhibition effect of p27mt on SW480 cells was detected with cytometry. Cell cycle was decided with flow cytometer, and DNA fragment analytic process identified the occurrence of apoptosis. Results： After transfected SW480 cells with Ad-p27mt, high expression of p27 protein was identified with immunoblotting assay. PI staining and flow cytometer assay showed 77.96% colon cancer cells was blocked in phase G0/G1, while in Ad-LacZ group and blank control group, 27.57% and 25.29% cells were blocked in the same phase, respectively. Growth curve showed Ad-p27mt has an obvious inhibition effect on the growth of SW480 cells, DNA fragment assay demonstrated that p27mt was able to induce the apoptosis of colon cancer cells. Conclusion： p27mt has an obvious blocking effect on colon cancer cell cycle, and most cells were blocked in phase G0/G1. This blockage is related with the growth inhibition and apoptosis induction effect of p27mt.

Relative bioavailability of tribasic zinc sulfate for broilers fed a conventional corn-soybean meal diet

An experiment was carried out to investigate the relative bioavailability of tribasic zinc（Zn） sulfate relative to Zn sulfate for broilers fed a conventional corn-soybean meal diet. A total of 504 1-d-old Arbor Acres commercial male chicks were randomly assigned by body weight of birds to one of seven treatments involving a 2×3 factorial arrangement with three levels of added Zn（30, 60, or 90 mg of Zn kg–1） and two Zn sources（tribasic Zn sulfate and Zn sulfate） plus a control with no added Zn for an experimental phase of 14 d. Plasma Zn, tibia ash Zn, pancreas Zn, and pancreas metallothionein（MT） messenger RNA（m RNA） were analyzed at 6 or 14 d of age post-hatching. The results showed that plasma Zn, tibia ash Zn, pancreas Zn, and pancreas MT m RNA increased linearly（P〈0.002） as dietary Zn concentration increased at 6 or 14 d of age. The R2 for a linear model was greater on d 6 than on d 14 for the above 4 responsive criteria, and among these indices, the fitting of the tibia ash Zn concentration was the best（R2=0.99）. Therefore, based on slope ratios from the multiple linear regressions of the above 4 indices of the birds at 6 d of age on daily intake of dietary Zn, the bioavailabilities of tribasic Zn sulfate relative to Zn sulfate（100%） were 95.6%（P=0.18）, 83.5%（P=0.01）, 87.9%（P=0.53）, and 75.9%（P=0.38） for the tibia ash Zn, pancreas Zn, plasma Zn, and pancreas MT m RNA, respectively. The results indicated that generally, Zn from tribasic Zn sulfate was as available as Zn from Zn sulfate for broilers.